The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-01-15
The WORLDS CENTER.
An Interesting Tale Told by the I3rahtnins
of the CITY of Delhi.

| An Interesting Tale Told by the Brahtnins
/ of the City of Delhi.
| About seven hundred miles northeast
Of Bombay, and about the same dis.
tancc northwest of Calcutta, stands the
ancient md very important city OF
Delhi, the former metropolis of the
Great Mogul. Its walls, gates, palaces
tombs and other great works, are won
derful for size and for beauty of archi
lecture, and would require large book
thoroughly to describe them. while tlt
history of the great city, which once
contained two millions of inhabitants
would almost form library. Not many
miles from Delhi stands an enormous
tall tower, but by whom that tower
was built, and for what purpose, no one
can tell The Brahmns say. however,
that it marks the center of the world:
and the story they tell about il is this,
Once upon time u certain King of
Delhi, being anxious to reign long and
to leave his throne to his family, and
being disturbed by doubts about it,
called council of pious Brahmins, who
informed him that just under where
they were in consultation, and just
where the great tower, called Kootub,
now stands, was the head of the great
serpent which supported the world.
"Now," they said, "if the King will
drive down a great iron into the earth,
at that spot, in such way as to trans
fix the head of the great serpert, he
may be sure that he would reign long,
and his children after him." The King
made the great iron and the tower, and
drove down into the earth and trans
fixed the scrpent's head-or at least the
Brahmins told him that he had;
but, doubling the word of these
holy men, and wishing 10 see
for himself that such was the
case, he had the iron pillar pulled up
again. Lo, and behold! twas covered
with blood, showing that the holy men
had been right; but, unfortunately,
when he wanted to drive it down again
, the animal very sensibly got out of the
way, and very shortly afterwards the
King was beset by enemies and lost not
J only his throne but his head. This sig
nal confirmation of the Brahmins' story
causes the natives to believe that the
head of the great serpent is still there,
, supporting the world, although, AS they
say, it may not be exactly under the
tower since the attempt of the King to
. transfix it a second time.
Not far from this wonderful tower is
wonderful well. 1t is about thirty
} feet square and one hundred and
twenty deep, and generally contains
about forty feet of water. In addition
I to its use for drinking purposes, the ma
| tives make another use of this huge
!, well whenever there are visitors attract
is the center of the world. To jump
, from the top into the darkness of the
pool, eighty feet below, would be like
leaping from a six-story house, and
would appear to be certain death. Yet
, the Hindoos of the village close by will
make the jump for a very few pence.
!, A dozen men and boys. with nothing
on but the very smallest waist-cloth,
will stand upon the curbstone, ready to
jump.
) An old gray-headed fellow will bal
ance himself, and then leap. For the
first fifty feet or so he extends his arms
!. and legs widely, then he brings his feet
4 close together, puts his hands close to
4 his side, and strikes the water with O
crash which echoes up the stony sides
. as his head disappears in the inky-look.
ing pool. You think he is gone! But
I no-in instant his gray head ap
3 pears, he swims to the wall, climbs ur
i the side to square hole which lead.
: to n reservoir, and is at the top again
in a moment, to claim his half rupee
Next, perhaps, jumps his grandson
y a naked imp of nine or ten. You shud
y = der because the little fellow appears tc
a have jumped too far, and to be in dan.
J, ger of striking the stone-work. Bu
n no! He misses the rocky side by les.
than yard. arranges his feet and
i, hands just as his grandsire did, anf
|. falls like stone in the water. YOU
i wait a long timc-one minute, two
= minutes-but the little round, barr
. pate does not appear. Will they make
: no effort to save him? Is the boy
drownedp Not bit of it! In another
moment, the grinning imp, dripping
i with water, is by your side. 1t turn'
b out there is in the well another com
!, munication with the reservoir, under
J. the water, and to this the boy hi.
dived, and thus come out: the silence
= and pretended alarm of those ut the
Q top being only another trick to excite
= sympathy and extract more money
', Then, as fast as possible, the whole lo
y will begin to jump, pell-mell, on top o
d each other almost, through the open
: ings,-up again, and down again-a
a long as there is chance of extracting
/ any coin from the strangers.
8 The village people do not seem t'
$ think the water at all spoiled for drink
ing purposes by being thus turned int,
bathing-pool.-Goldcn Days.
A --------S . H-------